French food retail giants Carrefour and Coopérative U have formed a European purchasing alliance named Concordis to enhance their buying power by consolidating volumes, aiming to pass on the benefits to consumers.
The new alliance will focus on negotiating purchase prices and providing international services, targeting multinational branded consumer goods suppliers in Europe, where both entities operate.
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Carrefour chairman and CEO Alexandre Bompard stated: “With the creation of Concordis, we are taking a decisive step towards building a next-generation buying alliance.”
“Through this partnership, we are becoming the number one purchasing force in France — and equipping ourselves to become the leader at the European level.”
Concordis, which will become effective with negotiations in 2026, will initially have a six-year duration.
The partnership seeks additional European retail members and is currently in talks with potential partners.
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By GlobalDataHeadquartered in Brussels, Concordis will leverage Carrefour’s European presence and the international capabilities of its subsidiaries CWT and Eureca.
The new alliance will also depend on Coopérative U’s international partnership experience and the expertise of future partners.
Concordis seeks to foster equitable supplier relationships that support mutual business growth while considering the sustainability of agri-food supply chains. This aligns with Carrefour’s mission and Coopérative U’s cooperative principles.
Coopérative U CEO Dominique Schelcher stated: “For Coopérative U, this plan to build a new European buying alliance addresses the competitiveness challenges of the French retail market.”
“With Concordis, we will enhance our competitiveness in support of our customers’ purchasing power. This project is fully aligned with our CAP 15 strategy and will be a key tool in reaching our 15% market share target by 2030.”
The alliance will be notified to the French Competition Authority by the end of July 2025, adhering to competition laws. It will also require approval from both the groups’ governing bodies.
Carrefour and Coopérative U plan future collaborations in various sectors. They aim to conduct joint auctions for private label standard consumer goods while preserving product differentiation autonomy.
Carrefour may also share its non-food sector expertise, particularly in textiles, with Coopérative U.
For digital initiatives, Coopérative U plans to partner with the Publicis-Carrefour joint venture Unlimitail to advance its retail media strategy.
Coopérative U, formerly Système U, is the fourth largest French distribution brand with 1793 stores and 12.1% market share. It owns the Hyper U, Super U, U Express and Utile trademarks.
Carrefour operates 14,000 food retail sector stores under various formats and banners in more than 40 countries.
In May 2025, a media report stated that retailer Ahold Delhaize held preliminary talks on purchasing Carrefour in late 2024. When asked about the report, Bompard told Reuters that it reflected “the attractiveness of our company”.
In March, the French competition authority cleared Carrefour’s acquisition of Louis Delhaize Group’s French operations. The approval came with the condition that Carrefour divests seven stores to rival brands and ends a franchise agreement that benefits a competitor.
The authority concluded that the acquisition would not substantially increase Carrefour’s purchasing power in the supply markets for daily consumer goods.
In December 2024, the competition watchdog approved Carrefour’s plan to buy 25 food retail stores operated under the Casino group banner.
